Talk:All about : Queen Elsa/@comment-74.99.65.62-20170125151644/@comment-74.99.65.62-20170125152614
2. Too Much Anna, Too Little Elsa Frozen ''is the first Disney feature-film to employ a female director. Seriously – it took them that long. And even then, Jennifer Lee only served as the film’s co-director with Chris Buck. This seems to mirror Pixar’s move with ''Brave, another story that abandoned traditional “love” narrative in place of a more interesting family dynamic, helmed by a female director. It’s an obvious move in the right direction for art, film, and stories. And Frozen ''takes a step in the same direction by focusing on the relationship between Anna and Elsa throughout. It’s worth noting that the original structure of the story, based on Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Snow Queen”, framed Elsa as a more traditional antagonist, in keeping with the story’s roots. Yet the song “Let It Go” was deemed far too “positive” for a villain to sing, so the story was retooled to explore the tenuous sisterhood of Anna and Elsa. Brilliant move. As a male (and an only-child), there is little I can offer to interpret or appreciate the relationship between Anna and Elsa, except to praise its portrayal as deep and complex in ways that exceed any other sister relationship in animated film. Structurally, by refusing to cast Elsa simply as an antagonist, the filmmakers have acknowledged that life and relationship are far more nuanced than the archetypes we tend to employ in times of conflict. When Anna finally finds Elsa in her ice castle, their dialogue reveals the depth and passion of their connection – the loss of childhood innocence, the pain of separation, and hope for the future. Unfortunately, this depth only goes so far, and it is regrettably concentrated in Elsa. Played by Idina Menzel with fascinating vulnerability, Elsa constantly wavers on the edge of crisis. From her coronation up to her tragic climax, Elsa is a gripping personality in the story that gives it a tremendous heart. The goal, the journey, and the crisis are all bound to Elsa’s choices, wounds, and sacrifice. Anna, on the other hand, is shallow and forgettable. She is loudly immature, painfully naive, and surprisingly static for a leading lady. From a story-telling point of view, there is nothing wrong with beginning with such a protagonist – most heroes begin their journey as uninformed youngsters. But Anna doesn’t really learn anything in the movie. She hardly grows. Think of it in terms of ''growth represented by choices. Anna’s massive choice at the end of the story, the moment of crisis, is to take a deathblow for her sister. For her to have grown, Anna must ''not ''have been willing to do this at the film’s start. One would be hard-pressed to argue that she wouldn’t. Really, Anna’s growth is limited to the hard-earned disappointment of Hans’ betrayal. But the relationship with Hans, or Kristoff, isn’t the core of the story. Her relationship with Elsa is. And while Elsa learns a great deal about trust, faith, and love, Anna doesn’t seem to learn nearly so much. As an audience member, it’s disappointing to follow a character for two hours and see her hardly budge. Bad move.